2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
From Rome with love: Caravaggio's $50-million painting debuts in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: For the first time ever, a painting attributed to the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio has arrived in Bengaluru, offering the city's art enthusiasts a rare chance to witness the dramatic intensity and emotional realism that reshaped Western art.
The painting, which is 419 years old, is a $50 million masterpiece.
The work — Maddalena in Estasi (Magdalene in Ecstasy) — is now on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) in Vasanth Nagar. The arrival of the painting, previously housed only in European collections, signals a growing effort to make globally significant art accessible across India, beyond the usual cultural hubs.
Andrea Anastasio, director of the Italian Cultural Centre (Delhi), told TOI: "This painting captures a moment of rapture, Magdalene's emotional response after seeing the risen Christ.
It reflects that intense emotional state when joy and pain blur because the feeling is too powerful to hold. Caravaggio's composition deepens this impact. Her body lies on a diagonal, three-quarters turned toward us. The lower half is detailed, the upper half dark and empty, drawing us into her experience.
It shows how art can merge beauty with emotional truth."
As to why the painting, created in 1606, is debuting in Bengaluru, Anastasio said: "The choice is personal, too.
I lived in this city for 10 years. Bengaluru has a unique energy and an intellectual openness that's hard to miss. There's a growing appetite here for meaningful, global cultural experiences, and this city deserves to be part of that conversation."
Alfonso Tagliaferri, consul general of Italy in Bengaluru, said, "One might wonder why it took so long for us to bring this masterpiece to India. It's extremely rare for Caravaggio's works to leave the museums they're housed in; many are simply too fragile or too important to be moved.
This painting is one of the very few still in private hands, rediscovered only a decade ago. That's what made this moment possible. A year and a half ago, we opened the consulate general here.
We're committed to building stronger ties with South India, and bringing a $50 million masterpiece here is a gesture of friendship, of cultural diplomacy."
Sophisticated, but relatable
"Caravaggio is one of the greatest names in Italian — and world — art history," Tagliaferri said.
"He completely changed how we paint biblical scenes. Before him, the Renaissance tradition made people look idealised, clean, graceful, perfect. Caravaggio painted raw human emotion. His figures had dirt under their nails. Their pain was visible; their joy, too. The light in his work is dramatic, almost cinematic; it feels like theatre or film.
In a way, it's very contemporary. You could even say it's Instagrammable."
"That's what makes him so special, he speaks to everyone," he added. "It is complex, sophisticated, but instantly relatable. You don't need to know art history to feel something when you see his work. And that's why we're so thrilled people in Bengaluru now get to experience this up close."
Alongside the painting, visitors can experience a specially designed virtual reality installation that brings Caravaggio's world to life.
This immersive experience offers art enthusiasts a deeper, more personal engagement with the artist's work, techniques, and influence.
Sanjeev Kishor Goutam, director general of NGMA, said, "Bringing this painting to Bengaluru is a cultural moment for the city. For the first time, Bengalureans can see a work attributed to Caravaggio. This showcase honours his creative legacy, which continues to shape global art history even centuries later.
We believe this exhibition will have a lasting influence, not only on seasoned art lovers but also on young minds.
We're expecting a strong turnout from students, scholars, and the wider public, people from all walks of life curious about how powerful art can transcend time, geography, and belief."
The exhibition will be open to the public from Saturday (June 14) to July 6, between 10am and 6pm, at NGMA.
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